Cornelius
This is a non-technical post. If you're thirsting for some technical mumbo-jumbo, may I suggest you look elsewhere today, dear reader. This is a post about something much deeper; something mysterious, ancient and pure. This, you see, is a post about beer.
I brewed my first batch of beer in the winter of 2001. It was a dry Irish stout, and it was delicous. I had help from a family friend, and the process fascinated me. The smell of the boiling wort, the sounds of the bubbling airlock, and of course, the taste of that sweet, sweet brew had me hooked. I've learned a lot since then, and have made plenty of mistakes. I've also crafted some damn fine beers, if I may say so myself. Some of my favorites are a bourbon barrel porter, an American pale ale and a pumpkin ale (using real pumpkins and freshly ground spices.)
Unfortunately, I haven't brewed since January of this year, and I only brewed a few times last year - including a few failed batches, I'm afraid (there are fewer things in life worse than having to pour 5 gallons of beer down the drain.) I could say it's because I moved this year, and I don't really have the room. I could say I haven't really had the time. The truth is, however, that I'm just lazy, and I don't want to wash all those damn bottles. You see, a 5 gallon batch of beer generally fills between 40-50 12 ounce bottles. Granted, I use a variety of bottle sizes, but I always clean more than I'll need, just in case. Cleaning bottles isn't particularly difficult, it's just time consuming, especially for a somewhat OCD clean freak like myself. I have over 200 bottles in my basement - many of them containing spoiled batches of beer, I'm afraid, that need cleaning, and I don't want to do it.
Enter the keg. Today, dear reader, I have crossed the rubicon. I have become the owner of 2 shiny new (well, used) cornelius kegs, along with the CO2 cylindar, regulator and necessary tubing to make good use of them. That, coupled with the recent Craigslist find of a ready-made kegerator, has placed me in a most fortuitous position - a homebrewer with only one bottle to wash!
The kegging process is similar to bottling, with the added bonus of being able to drink the beer sooner, due to forced carbonation via CO2. However, homebrew will still condition inside a keg, just as it does in a bottle. Still, this does mean that in a pinch, I can have a batch of beer ready in about 3-4 weeks, rather than the 6 or more usually required by bottling. I'm still deciding on what to brew first, but I know from here on out, I won't need to decide what to brew last.